Trap hen&#39;s nest.



R. S. BLEVANS.

TRAP HENS NEST.

APPLICATION FILED APB.12, 1912.

1,071,201 Patented Aug126, 1913.

b y I '10 Attorneys RICHARD S. BLEVANS, OF VICTOR, COLORADO.

TRAP HENS NEST.

TAWLQWL Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 12, 1912.

Patented A n 26,1913. Serial No. 690,405.

To all w/wm it may coacem Be it known that T, RICHARD S. Bnnvnns, acitizen of the United States, residing at Victor, in the county ofTeller and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Trap HensNest, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hens nests.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a device of thischaracter which may be built in a fence, wall or other partitionseparating two inclosures or poultry yards, and into which the hen mayenter and which is operative to cause the hen to pass into the otherinclosure or yard when the nest is vacated.

This invention has for another object the provision of a device of thischaracter which may be readily occupied by the hen and which in itsoperation, will not frighten, excite or injure the hen, and which willpermit the hen to remain therein in quietude and seclusion.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a devicewhich shall serve to convey the hens entering same from one inclosure oryard to an adjoining inclosure or yard, and shall prevent the hens fromreturning to the original inclosurc or yard from which they came, thussegregating them completely from the others.

A still further object of the present in vention is to provide a deviceof the character indicated which shall be simple, durable, andinexpensive in construction, and which shall be simple and effective inits operation.

This device is adapted particularly for use in segregating or separatingthe hens passing therethrough from the others in poultry yards, in orderthat the nesting hens may be distinguished or detected. The nonlayinghens may then be replaced by other laying hens and in this manner theefficiency of the poultry yard may be greatly in creased, and thehusbandry of the poultry yard may be brought to the highest possiblestandard, which is the desire of every poultry raiser. it is known thata. good percentage of hens of every breed are not good laying hens, andit is therefore desirable to re move such hens from the flock andreplace the same by laying hens With the foregoing and other objects inview, which will appear as the description proceeds, the inventionresides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the detailsof construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understoodthat changes in the precise embodiment of the invention hereindisclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

The invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in thepreferred embodiment, and in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device as in use, parts being;broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the device, on aslightly enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line3-3 of Fig. 2, parts being); broken away.

Referring specifically to the drawings, wherein similar numerals havebeen used to designate corresponding parts, the numeral 4 designates thecasing, which is preferably rectangular in cross section, and which hasan upper entrance 5 through the front wall thereof, and which has alower exit 6 through the opposite or rear wall thereof. The entrance 5extends to the sides of the casing in one direction and extends from thetop of the casing to a position slightly above the median plane betweenthe top and bottom of the casing in the other or vertical direction, andthe upper end of the exit 6 is arranged slightly below the lower end ofthe entrance 5, this exit 6 extending to the sides of the casing andhaving its lower end spaced above or terminating short of the bottom ofthe casing. It is understood, h owever, that the particular location,form or size of the entrance or exit may be altered as is deemeddesirable or necessary.

The vertically slidable nest has been designated by the numeral 11, thisnest being in the form of a rectangular box, containing feathers, straw,or similar material as are commonly employed in nests of this character,this nest being of a contour to fit snugly within the casing and beingfree to slide vertically therein. Struts 17 are socured within thecorners of the nest or box 11, and have their upper ends u Jstandingfrom the corners of the nest, a false top 18 being secured to the upperends of the struts, and which false top 18 is of a contour simi lar tonest and which is seatable against the top of the casing when the nestis raised. The false top 18 is spaced at a suitable distance above thenest 11 so that when the false top 18 is seated against the top of thecasing, the upper end of the nest will be flush with the lower end ofthe entrance 5, although if desired, the upper end of the nest may beslightly spaced above or below, the lower end of the entrance when thenest is raised. The nest when lowered is adapted to seat on the bottomof the casing, a n d in so doing, moves to a position slightly below theexit, thereby carrying the false top 18 downward, which will close thepassage from the nest through the entrance 5. This false top 18, whenthe nest is seated on the bottom of the casing, is adapted to assume aposition slightly above the lower end of the entrance 5 for the purposehereinafter set forth, and the side of the nest 11 adjacent the exit 6is arranged to have its upper edge protrude slightly above the lower endof the exit 6 when the nest is lowered or depressed for the purposehereinafter described.

The nest is normally held in raised position by means which overbalancesthe weight of the nest, this means for overbalancing the. weight of thenest consists in a weight 28 arranged at one side of the casing andconnected by a cord or cable 19 to the false top 18. This cable 19passes through the top of the casing and is trained over the pulleys orsheaves 22 which are mounted below a canopy 21. This canopy 21 issupported above the top of the casing by means of standards 20 at thecorners. The weight 2-3 is sufficient to overba-lance the weight of thenest 11 and accompanying parts, so that when the nest is unoccupied thesame will be raised to bring the false top 18 against the top of thecasing. The weight 23, however, is not sufficient to retain the nest inraised position when occupied, and as a result the nest will gravitatewithin the easmg.

When the nest is occupied by a hen, the nest is restricted to gravitateslowly and gradually, this result being accomplished by means of an aircylinder 15, secured at its upper end to the bottom of the casing,around an opening provided therein, and having the lower end thereofclosed and provided with a constricted vent 16, a solid piston 14working in the cylinder 15, and a piston rod 13 secured at its ends tothe piston 14 and to the bottom of the nest 11. The bottom of the casingis provided with a central opening 12 leading into the space or chamberwithin the cylinder 15 and through which opening the piston rod 13passes. The constricted vent 16 in the outer end of the cylinderprovides for the restricted ingress and egress of the air, and as aresult, the piston is impeded in its movement which will cause the nestto descend or gravitate within the casing with a slow and gradualmovement. In this manner, when the nest is occupied by a hen, the nestwill gravitate slowly and gradually to seat on the bot-tom of thecasing, and when the nest is unoccupied or vacated, the same will ascendslowly and gradually. The air in being compressed within the cylinder 15when the nest is being occupied will serve Qpushion the nest, and as theair is permitted to slowly emit through the vent 16, the nest ispermitted to descend or gravitate.

A trap door 7 is hinged to the casing 4 at the upper end of the eXit 6,this door being held partially open by means of a flexible member orcord 8 secured to the free end of the door and secured to the casingabove the exit. This trap door permits the hen to readily vacate thenest through the exit, but prevents the nest from being occupied throughthe exit. The trap door is held partially open so as to lead the hen topass through the exit in vacating the nest.

A perch 9 is secured to the casing 4 at the lower end of the entrance 5,the perch being supported by means of brackets or braces 10. This perchserves as a platform for the hen when entering the nest in order thatthe hen may mount upon the perch 9 and then pass through the entrance 5to occupy the nest.

A curtain 24 is attached at its ends to the forward edges of the top ofthe casing and the false top 18, so that when the nest is gravitated,the passage between the top of the casing and the false top 18 will beclosed. This curtain 24 when the nest is in raised position will bedoubled or folded in order to unencumber the passage into the nest butstill partially close the entrance.

In use, the casing 4 is built in a fence F as illustrated in Fig. 1,which fence is employed as a partition for separating two adjoiningyards or inclosures. The fence F is merely employed as diagrammatic, itbeing understood, that the casing 4 may be built in a wall or any otherpartition separating two inclosures of any sort. The inclosure withwhich the entrance 5 of the casing communicates is used to contain thevarious fowls, and it is understood that any number of the nests may beemployed, the same being preferably set side to side. The laying henwill then enter the casing 4 through the entrance 5 to occupy the nest,in which event the nest will slowly and gradually gravitate to seat onthe bottom of the casing. Particular attention is directed to the factthat the cylinder is of a length slightly longer than the verticalmovement of the nest, the piston working within the cylinder at allpositions of the nest, so that the nest will be constrained to move at auniform slow velocity under the various conditions. The slow downwardmovement of the nest will prevent the hen from being frightened, excitedor injured, and should the hen pass her head through the entrance 5 whenthe nest is descending, her head will not be injured by the downwardmovement of the false top 1.8 for the reason that the false top isspaced above the lower end of the entrance 5 when the nest is seated onthe bottom of the casing. When the nest has gravitated, the false top 18closes, or rather partially closes, the passage from the nest throughthe entrance 5 in order to prevent the hen from vacating the nestthrough the entrance. The exit 6 is partially open at all times, and thefalse top 18 being spaced slightly above the entrance 5 when the nesthas gravitated, will provide for the proper ventilation of the nest, andwhen the nest has gravitated, the hen may occupy the nest to theexclusion of the other fowls and without interruption, and may remain inquietude until the egg has been laid. The eurtain 2% inclosing thepassage between the false top 18 and the top of the casing when the nesthas gravitated prevents the entrance of other hens or fowls into thecasing above the false top 18, so as not to interfere with the action ofthe device or the quietude or seclusion of the hen occupying the nest.The canopy 21 also prevents the hen or fowls from mounting on the cable19 to interfere with the operation of the device or to shake or move thenest. It will therefore follow that when the nest is occupied the henwill not be disturbed, and it will be noted that the curtain 24 servesto close the entrance 5 when the nest has gravitated. After the egg hasbeen laid, the hen may vacate the nest through the exit 6, the hen beingled to pass through the exit for the reason that the exit is alwayspartially open, and the trap door 7 being free to swing upard to permitthe passage of the hen. After the hen has passed through the exit, thetrap door 7 will drop downward to prevent the hen or any other hen fromentering the .nest. After the nest has been vacate or is unoccupied, theweight 23 in overbalancing the nest, will cause the nest to ascend tothe normal raised position. This slow ascension of the nest will preventthe egg from being broken, and will also prevent the nest from risingrapidly to catch the hen as the hen is vacating the nest.

In the manner described, as the hens occupy the nest to lay the eggs,the hens are collected in the yard or inclosure adjacent the yard orinclosure containing the mixed fowls, and as a result the nesting hensmay be detected and segregated from the others. This will assist inreplacing the nonlaying hens by working hens, in order that thehusbandry of the poultry yard may be brought to the highest possiblestandard, avoiding lazy hens, or hens which do not lay.

This device is simple, durable, and inexpensive in construction, and maybe readily repaired when necessary. This device also operates in asimple and effective manner so as not to frighten, excite or injure thehens, and permits the hens to remain in quietude and seclusion whenlaying.

It is understood that the various parts of this device may beconstructed of any suitable materials, and that the proportions ordimensions of the various details may be altered at will, and that thisdevice is further susceptible of alterations or deviations in itsdetails within the scope of the appended claim without departing fromthe spirit of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:-

A trap hens nest comprising a casing having an upper entrance and alower exit, a nest slidable vertically in the casing, means for raisingthe nest when unoccupied, a cylinder secured to one end of the casingand having a constricted vent, a piston in the cylinder, and a pistonrod connecting the cylinder and nest, the cylinder being of a lengthlonger than the vertical movement of the nest and the piston workingsnugly within the cylinder at all positions of the nest, so that thenest will be constrained to move at a uniform slow velocity.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto ailiXedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD S. BLEVANS. l Vitnesses E. E. lVlERRIS, B. A. Game.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. (3.

